Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market marks first year with lessons learned, special events

A mobile way to bring affordable food to underserved neighborhoods is marking its first year with even more ways to save while reflecting on how best to serve a need going forward.

The Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market began serving residents with lower-priced grocery and household items in October 2023. It’s now found at seven locations in food insecure neighborhoods and is open Monday through Friday, with occasional pop-up events on weekends.

“Sioux Falls has a history of small markets sprinkled throughout its older neighborhoods, but most have closed over the years,” said Michelle Erpenbach, president of Sioux Falls Thrive, which helps run the mobile market.

“With them went easy access to basic necessities. The Mobile Market is a taste of that era, including the friendly atmosphere!”

In the first year, the Mobile Market served 848 customers, who made 2,983 purchases.

“So we have a wonderful following of repeat customers,” Erpenbach said.

“Generally, the Mobile Market project is proceeding as expected, but timelines have changed repeatedly. The city’s original grant requirement was to prove at least five years of viability, and that goal is still reasonable. Thrive, on the other hand, planned for the Mobile Market to transition out of pilot status into long-term viability starting this fall.”

The Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market is one of the larger pilot projects that Sioux Falls Thrive has hosted in the past few years, she added.

“Probably the biggest lesson we’ve learned in this process is that no startup venture is without its challenges,” she said.

With help from a nationally experienced change management coordinator acting as a facilitator, the plan is to bring the Mobile Market outside of Thrive’s coaching and pilot phase next summer.

Lessons learned

When the Mobile Market opened a year ago, “the goal was to improve access and affordability of groceries in food desert designations around Sioux Falls,” Erpenbach said.

The model was predicted to perform well in a set neighborhood that was representative of the Qualified Census Tracts in a grant proposal from the city of Sioux Falls. To begin, three locations were chosen for one-hour sales inside that neighborhood.

“Inventory was mostly brand-name products purchased at a minimal discount and sold at prices that reflected a standard grocery store located in the community but outside the food desert,” Erpenbach said.

A couple of other one-hour sales locations were tested in similar neighborhoods, along with an opportunity to set up shop in the parking lot at Active Generations on the west side as well as at the city Health Department.

“Based on sales and the higher numbers of returning customers, the Active Generations location showed more promise than any of the neighborhood stops in the original testing phase,” Erpenbach said. “And the city health clinic clearly showed the need for longer sales times as potential customers are far more transient in that area of town.”

She said three main lessons were learned in that first phase:

• While they work incredibly well in other cities that host mobile markets, one-hour sales stops do not meet the needs of potential customers in Sioux Falls.
• Except for Active Generations and the city health clinic, sales locations were not sited effectively. They were inside the required geographic areas but not close enough or accessible enough for the target audience.
• Inventory was priced too high.

To adjust, the sales schedule was increased from three to five days a week, staying open at least two hours at a time and sometimes as long as five hours, in seven neighborhoods identified as critical around the city. A focus also was placed on building relationships with city and school district staff.

“The new locations include four Title I, or low income, schools,” Erpenbach said. “The Mobile Market parks on streets adjacent to the schools. School leaders help the Mobile Market make direct connections with parents and families, and approved parking locations that do not interfere with school bus movement.”

While August and September have been the top-selling months, “the Mobile Market still needs additional testing of the pricing model to get closer to the goal of long-term viability,” she added.

“A bonus is that the growing season has exceeded expectations for contributions from local growers. Excess produce has been donated almost daily and sold at a reasonable markup, helping get consumers closer to the ‘farm to table’ model that makes summer meals so enjoyable in the Midwest.”

The mobile market also partnered with Iron Fox Farms, which grew produce this spring in part to offer at the Mobile Market.

“It’s had a positive impact on the Mobile Market’s goal of accessibility to fresh produce,” Erpenbach said.

“And, while it’s never been the goal to make a profit, an innovative solution like the Mobile Market will always need some level of financial support. Now, with the accounting model and financial statements well established, the Mobile Market monthly run rate is clear. That makes it easier to have conversations with potential future donors who see the direct benefit between affordable, accessible groceries and the well-being of community residents.”

The market often gets requests to add new neighborhoods, but the program “is at the point where we need to hold to a consistent schedule and finalize a business strategy that supports transitioning from pilot to permanent project,” Erpenbach said.

“I can visualize how the Mobile Market will grow under new leadership, but I’m asking the community to give us the next few months to finalize the launch.”

The biggest question the team gets is about how to support the market, she said.

“The best way to provide your support is to shop there. You’ll be surprised by the selection, and you’ll love the friendly staff,” she said.

The Mobile Market also has a Pay It Forward program for those who want to help the staff fill occasional gaps for shoppers.

“The Market only takes cards, so sometimes people only have cash, or they don’t have enough on their card to pay the full amount of the items they need,” Erpenbach said.

“Pay It Forward gift cards help make sure everyone is served with dignity and respect.”

You can make those purchases at any Mobile Market stop.

“The Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market is the first of its kind in South Dakota,” Erpenbach added. “But I don’t think it will be the last. It is proving community need for easier access to life’s basic necessities.”

Celebratory events

To mark its first year, from Oct. 7-11, the Mobile Market will offer a 10 percent discount on all purchases, courtesy of a contribution from MarketBeat. Customers can pick up free swag and sign up for a drawing to win Mobile Market gift cards at all sales locations.

Other special events will include free flu and COVID shots for anyone age 18 and older at the Hayward Elementary stop on Monday, Oct. 7, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. and at the Garfield Elementary stop on Oct. 10 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. The vaccinations are available through a partnership with Sanford Health, US Aging and Lewis Drug.

On Thursday, Oct. 10, the All of Us bus will visit the Mobile Market’s Garfield Elementary stop from 1 to 6 p.m. The All of Us bus is a traveling educational exhibit that features interactive activities, videos, games and quizzes designed to demonstrate the power of participation in health research. Visitors can even enroll in the All of Us Research Program during their visit.

For a full list of stops and events, click here.